A Royal Decision
by homesweethomicide13
Summary: Anna is sixteen and wants to travel the country like her parents, but Lief and Jasmine are conflicted in their views on her decision. Can they come to an agreement? PurpleLight's Request.


**Title:** A Royal Decision  
**Author:** homesweethomicide13  
**Rating:** T  
**Pairing:** Lief/Jasmine  
**Warning:** None?  
**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own DQ and its characters.  
**Summary:** Anna is sixteen and wants to travel the country like her parents, but Lief and Jasmine are conflicted in their views on her decision. Can they come to an agreement?

**Author's Note:** This is a one-shot request from PurpleLight, after giving the correct answer to my_ Who Said 'Mommy's Dead_ question. A Lief/Jasmine was requested, and thus, here it is! Hope it's what you wanted!

**A Royal Decision**

It was spring in Deltora, and the land was as nourished and green as ever. The birds in the palace tower called out their songs in appreciation of the beautiful morning that had risen. Singing along with them in her own variation was a young girl with long dark hair and the brightest of eyes. Growing up surrounded by the feathered creatures had given her the ability to imitate their voices to such an extent where you couldn't tell what was birdsong and what was her own voice.

She was up exceptionally early that morning. Normally she would rise with her parents and follow them up to palace after a good breakfast, but today she had woken earlier and walked up to the palace by herself. Her parents wouldn't be worried about her, so it was okay. They were used to her wandering off on her own; she'd done it ever since she was a young girl. She had considered waking her parents and younger brothers before she left, but decided against it. She needed the time to think through the request she was planning to pose to her parents later that day.

As she hand-fed one of her favourite birds, she smiled. She was finally sixteen, and a young woman. Her younger brothers were barely eleven, having only just had their birthday last month. She knew that her grandmother had insisted on throwing a huge party for her later that day, and her smile widened into a grin. Some very special friends had been invited, and at this very moment, all of them were asleep somewhere in the palace. She looked out of the window and laughed quietly. Well, almost all of them. 'Uncle' Barda always had trouble sleeping at the palace these days. He always said it was too quiet.

Putting the bird back onto its perch, she left the bird room and made her way to the palace gardens, intending to receive a nice, warm birthday cuddle from her favourite ex-Chief. He turned the moment he heard her approach and smiled. Grinning at him, she ran forward and threw her arms around his waist, feeling him return the gesture slowly. A lot of his old discomfort with displays of affection had fizzled out now, and he was more open when showing his emotions.

"Hello, princess." Her grin widened at the nickname he'd given her when she'd been about three years old. The people of Del also referred to her as 'Princess', but only because that was her title among them. Barda called her princess because she was, in fact, his little princess. "Happy birthday, Anna."

"Thank you, Uncle Barda!" Even after all those years, the 'uncle' had never dropped from his name. He wasn't really her uncle, since he was in no way related to either her mother or her father, but he was their closest friend and thus a part of their family.

"Sixteen at last, aye?" He asked and she pulled back enough to look up into his smiling face. "I remember when your parents were that age." She giggled slightly. She'd heard plenty of stories about her parents, mostly from Barda. Half of the things he had told her she hadn't believed – until she'd heard the same thing from Doom, her mysterious, scarred grandfather. "Let's just hope you don't turn out the same way." He was grinning now, the same grin she often saw on the face of her best friend. "I can probably assume that you woke before your parents, so why don't we take a walk down to the forge?"

"Okay." She linked her arm with his and led him down one of the many paths that zigzagged through the gardens towards the gates. "Too quiet again, was it?" She asked him. He laughed.

"Always is when Jay and Joeley aren't sleeping in the room next door." He told her. "I guess I'm so used to them fighting and arguing every waking moment that when I'm given a moment of peace, it's too unsettling." Anna nodded in understanding. She liked talking to Barda like this. He told such wonderful stories, a talent her grandmother told her he'd picked up from his mother. Anna had never met Min, but she wished she could have. If Barda was anything to go by, she must have been a truly wonderful woman.

"Jarred and Endon don't fight very much." She shrugged. "I think Endon is too quiet for things like that." Barda sighed.

"I wish one of my boys was quiet." Anna laughed. Out of the six children he'd had with Lindal, four of them were boys. Kade, the youngest, was the quietest of the lot, but even he was rowdy. "It gets a little tedious pulling them apart when they get into fights. Liam, thankfully, seems to be growing out of it." Anna smiled at the mention of Liam, the oldest child. He was a couple of months older than her, and already turning into a fine young man. They were quiet for the rest of the walk, until they reached the forge gates and saw Lief and Jasmine standing by the front door, Jarred and Endon hovering behind them.

"Wandering off again, are we Anna?" Lief asked with a smile. Barda grinned.

"One young lady, delivered safely to her home." He said to Lief. Anna grinned and playfully pushed at him – of course, she achieved nothing by doing this. Barda was still the palace guard he always was. She doubted she could push him even an inch, even though she'd acquired the combined strength of her parents.

"Happy birthday Anna!" Endon and Jarred cried at the same time, both of them pushing gifts into her hands. She smiled at them and pulled them into a big hug. She was very close to her brothers, and adored them completely. Lief smiled at the sight, and turned to look at Jasmine, who was beaming right back at him.

"I'd say it was time we went up to the palace. Sharn and Doom will be waiting for us." He said to them all. Jasmine nodded and instantly took the hands of Endon and Jarred. Anna linked her arm with her father's, and Barda strolled along behind them. The walk to the palace was a peaceful one, Anna occasionally shaking one of the gifts by her ear, as if it would help her to guess what was inside. When they reached the palace, Endon and Jarred suddenly darted forward towards two twelve-year-old boys who were fighting with wooden swords. Anna heard Barda sigh from behind her, and laughed. The fighting boys stopped when they saw Endon and Jarred, and ran over.

"Hey Anna! Happy birthday!" One of them grinned at her. He was slightly shorter than the other, and had the same blue eyes as his father. He was dressed in a dark red shirt with a leather belt fastened around the middle. The other boy was wearing a similar shirt, but his was dark blue.

"We got you presents, but mother said to leave them with the others, inside!" The other boy told her, his grin the exact replica of the shorter boy's. In fact, the two boys were almost identical, except for the slight height difference and the colour of their eyes. The taller boy had deep brown eyes, which he had inherited from his mother.

"My present is the best!" The shorter boy boasted. Instantly, the taller boy turned on him with a sneer.

"No, _mine_ is the best, Jay!" And then they were fighting, swinging at each other and carefully dodging the other's moves. Barda sighed again and stepped forward, grasping each boy by the back of the shirt and pulling them apart. Lief stifled a laugh and Jasmine hid a smile behind her hand.

"What have I told you two about fighting?" Barda asked the two boys in a stern voice. They both looked rather guilty now. "Joeley, don't taunt your brother." He set the taller boy down on the floor. "And Jay, don't attack your brother." When Jay was set down on the floor, he crossed his arms over his chest and scowled.

"He started it." He muttered. Barda rolled his eyes.

"And I finished it." He turned to give Lief, Jasmine and Anna an exasperated look, at which they grinned. "Where are the others?"

"In the kitchen." Joeley grinned. "We came out here to wait for you. Mother said you would be with them, since you weren't in bed when she woke up." Barda nodded. Together they made their way to the kitchen, where they were greeted by a chorus of 'Happy birthday'. Doom, Sharn and Lindal were seated at the table, with Marilen and Ranesh standing beside one counter. Their son, Josef, was standing on the other side of the room, with another tall young man and a girl who was the very image of Barda. Sat on the counter beside Marilen and Ranesh was a boy and a girl who were obviously twins. On the table was a pile of presents.

"Wow, are those all for me?" Anna gasped with a grin. She hadn't expected so many gifts. She put the two presents in her hand down on the table, meaning to open them towards the end.

"Of course they are." Barda laughed, moving to stand behind Lindal's chair. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she reached up to cover his hand with hers. "Who else would they be for?" The young man next to Josef stepped forward and picked up a small box wrapped in bright paper and walked over to her.

"I want you to open mine first, Anna." His deep voice still surprised her, even though she'd heard it plenty of times before. She'd known him since they were both very young, and so she'd gotten used to his old, unbroken voice. She took the box from him and carefully unwrapped it. Inside was a blue box that had her name printed on the front in gold lettering. Curious, she opened it up and gasped when she saw what was inside. Upon a fine gold chain was an emerald shaped into a raven, her favourite bird. She'd seen this glorious necklace in the market a few months ago, and remembered mentioning it to him.

"You remembered." She whispered, looking up into his eyes. "Oh, thank you Liam!" She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, absolutely thrilled with her beautiful present. It meant so much to her that he'd remembered it. She smiled and kissed his cheek, watching with amusement as he blushed slightly.

"It's nothing, really." Now he was embarrassed – it was at times like this that she realized how much like his father he was. She glanced over at Barda and saw that the big man was smirking, a sure sign that Liam was going to be the subject of some playful teasing later on. The girl who had been standing beside him laughed and jumped forward, punching his arm.

"I knew it; you're such a sissy, Liam." She laughed, flicking her long fringe from her eyes. Liam scowled at her, but she ignored him and picked up one of the largest wrapped gifts from the table. "This one is from me." Anna took the slightly rounded present and briefly wondered what was in it. Well, there was only one way to find out. She unwrapped it just as carefully as she'd unwrapped Liam's gift, and grinned when a quiver of emerald-tipped arrows came into sight. Mariah had taught her archery when they'd been young girls, and she'd expressed that she would love to have her own equipment instead of using the palace equipment. She reached forward and pulled her best friend into a hug.

"Thank you Mariah, it's wonderful." She grinned.

"Yeah well, you know, of course it is." They laughed together before Jay and Joeley ran forward and picked up two more boxes, one wrapped in shiny red paper, the other wrapped in shiny blue paper. What amused Anna was that they appeared to have picked up the wrong ones.

"Hands off Joeley, that one's mine!" Jay growled, pointing at the red box in Joeley's hands.

"Yeah, well that one's mine!" Joeley snapped back, pointing at the blue box in Jay's hands. Anna stole a glance at Barda and saw that he was covering his face with his hand, and Lindal was laughing quietly and patting the hand that was still on her shoulder. Before a fight could break out, Liam stepped forward and took both boxes from the boys' hands, and switched them around. "Oh… well I'm giving mine to Anna first!"

"No way! I am!" Anna quickly solved the matter by taking both at once.

"I'll open them at the same time, but I'll need your help. If you hold them still on the table for me…" They did so, and she peeled back the paper on both boxes at once. When the paper had been torn off, she held back a laugh. Both boys had bought her the same thing – a box of her favourite chocolates. "Wow, you both know how much I love these!" She said with a smile. "And you obviously knew that I could definitely eat two boxes of them." Both boys beamed at her, as if they had actually planned for it to happen. "Thank you, both of you." She gave them both a hug at the same time to avoid argument, and put the chocolates on the pile of unopened gifts. The twin boy and girl hopped down off the counter and picked up a large bouquet of flowers, carrying it over to her between them.

"Anna, this is from us." The boy grinned. The girl nodded.

"We picked them all ourselves!" Anna noticed that they'd given her all of her favourite flowers, and smiled. It always amused her that, unlike their brothers, Kade and Divinity actually got along perfectly fine, and the two were inseparable.

"They're very beautiful, thank you." Sharn took them from her, and put them in a vase of water. "So, who is next?" Josef grinned and handed her a heavy gift. "Oh, what's this?" She grinned as she opened it, and her grin widened when she read the title on the cover of the book inside. "Thank you so much, Josef!" She'd wanted this book for a long time, but the library had never had it when she'd gone to look for it. More gifts were given out, and she was thrilled with every single one. Marilen and Ranesh had bought her another couple of books she'd wanted, Sharn had sewn her a cloak very much like the one her father wore all the time, and Doom had made her a stunning sword – strictly not for use unless it was needed. Her brothers had bought her a pair of daggers, since her current two were old and beginning to rust, despite the great care with which she looked after them. She received her very own horse from her father and a raven from her mother – one of Kree's offspring. But it was the present from Barda and Lindal that really touched her heart.

"I hope this is right." Barda said while reaching under the table to retrieve their gift to her. "A lot of love went into its making." And he pulled out a beautiful long bow, made of the finest wood and carved by hand. She took it, unable to speak, and ran her fingers along its polished surface, reading the engraving in the side. _Happy birthday, my little princess._ She looked up at Barda with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered. "But how did you–,"

"My daughter has a big mouth." He smiled, glancing at Mariah, who was grinning. Lindal laughed.

"I wonder where she got that from." She muttered. "He carved that himself, Anna. You wouldn't believe how long it took him, but several months and lots of colourful language later, there it is. I wound the horsehair for the string, but the rest was all Barda." She was shocked at this information.

"Several _months_?" She gasped out. Barda flushed slightly and shifted uncomfortably.

"Well I'm not a carpenter… and it had to be perfect for my princess." He was slowly getting more and more embarrassed. "It took me several attempts. And I kept getting splinters." Anna ran forward and hugged him, making sure to hug Lindal afterwards. This had been the best birthday so far.

*

After a great feast had been prepared, Anna decided it was time to tell her parents about the decision she had made. She gathered her friends and family together, slightly nervous at how they would all react.

"I have something I would like to propose to you." She said to Lief and Jasmine slowly. "I know I'm the Princess of Deltora and the next in line for the Belt, but… I would like to travel the country, as you did long ago." She lifted her chin boldly, and waited for their response.

"No." Lief said shortly. "It is too dangerous for you out there. I know first-hand the sort of things that roam the country, things that even the Shadow Lord didn't create." Jasmine turned to him, shocked.

"Well I think she should be allowed to go." She said firmly. "After all, it is in her blood to be adventurous." Lief scowled.

"Don't be absurd! She will not survive out there!"

"Of course she will, she is intelligent, quick-witted and strong."

"Not strong enough to protect herself!"

"How do you know that? She is perfectly capable!"

"No she is not! I will not allow my only daughter to put her life at risk!" Everyone had fallen silent as Lief and Jasmine argued, but the argument was cut short when Anna stamped her foot on the ground.

"Stop arguing." She told her parents. "I hate it when you argue." They said nothing, but glanced at each other for a moment. "This is something I really want to do. If you won't let me, father, then I will go anyway. There is nothing you can do to stop it." She turned and left the feasting hall without another word. An uncomfortable silence settled upon the group, until Liam sighed.

"I'll go." He murmured, walking off in the direction Anna had taken. It was Lief who broke the silence next.

"Jasmine, I'm sorry for yelling." He said quietly. "I'm just scared that we'll lose her." Jasmine smiled and stepped forward, putting her arms around him. He returned the embrace and sighed.

"I know, Lief, but she's not a fragile palace doll. She's our daughter, and she's not a push over. She can take care of herself." He pulled back to kiss his wife. She always made everything seem okay. "Let her go. She'll be fine." Barda turned away from Lief and Jasmine and watched as Liam and Anna walked back into the hall. Liam had his arm around her shoulders, and Anna was grinning at him. An idea struck him, and he turned back to Lief and Jasmine.

"I know how you can be sure that she'll be okay." He told them. Everyone looked at him, surprised. He smiled. "I know that you two are blind to affection – I mean, it took you two long enough to realize you held feelings for each other – but I am not so blind." He gestured to the door which Anna and Liam had come through, and everyone turned to stare at the two sixteen-year-olds. "Send Liam along with her. That boy would rather die than let anything harm her." Lief and Jasmine exchanged an amused glance. "Besides, it would be good for him to get away from us for a while. He needs time on his own to develop properly, and he doesn't get that a lot in our home."

"Then it's settled. And who better to protect my daughter than the son of my own guardian?" Lief laughed. Barda grinned at him and ruffled his hair. Mariah suddenly stepped in front of him.

"That's not fair." She stated bluntly. "I've wanted to travel for ages! Why don't you send me instead? I can take care of myself just fine." Barda laughed and bent down to her level.

"I don't doubt that for a moment, Mariah." He told her. "But I can't let you go running off around the country."

"Why not?" She demanded. He smiled and stroked back the fringe that had once again flopped down into her eyes.

"Because you're my little girl." She smiled at him.

"Don't worry, father. I'll watch over her." They both turned to look at Liam, who was standing with his arm around Anna, grinning.

"Watch over me? More like I'll watch over you!" Mariah smirked. "I can still put you on the floor with one move, Liam. Wouldn't wanna be embarrassed like that in front of your girlfriend, would you?" Liam blushed profusely at the word 'girlfriend', much to Mariah's amusement.

"Mariah, honey, anyone can put Liam on the floor with one move." Barda laughed. Liam scowled at him.

"Thanks, dad. I appreciate that." He took his arm from around Anna's shoulders, and appeared to sulk, but Barda knew better. In a flash, Liam had charged at him, fists raised. Mariah grinned as she watched, knowing exactly how it was going to end up. Barda rolled his eyes and stepped to one side with his arm extended out. He caught Liam around the waist and flipped him over his shoulder. Liam landed on the floor behind him with a loud thump.

"Too slow, Liam." Barda laughed. Liam scowled at him from the floor, and Barda held out a hand. Liam took it and was hoisted to his feet. "I rest my case." Jay and Joeley exchanged a glance, and looked at Kade, who grinned at them. With a shared nod, they all ran at Barda, attacking from all sides. Barda smiled and allowed them to drag him down to the floor. He lay on his stomach, and propped his head up with his hand. Jay was sat on his back, with Joeley and Kade on his legs. "Alright, alright. You got me. You win." Lindal smiled, knowing that Barda always let the younger boys 'win'. Lief slid his arm around Jasmine and pulled her close. He didn't like the thought of Anna travelling through the same places where his own life had been threatened, but with Liam watching over her, he was sure she would be okay. And besides, if Mariah was accompanying them too, he felt sorry for anyone who tried to cause them trouble. Mariah was frighteningly similar to both her parents.

He smiled. Everything was going to be okay, he knew it.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Okay... I know it was supposed to be mainly Lief/Jasmine, but I got caught up in the plot and forgot entirely, and it ended up as more of a family story... I hope that's okay XD I tried to put more Lief/Jasmine in, but since I don't really write it that much I don't know if it's any good XD Hope it was alright for you, PurpleLight!_


End file.
